Hacker News Reader

1101010010on Iran installs cameras in public places to identify, penalise unveiled women

> This reminds me of the "guns don't kill people" argument.

So you're telling me if we banned cameras in Iran, women would no longer be oppressed?

1101010010on Starlink was down because of expired certificate

> Rotating my private key would reduce my risk from an unknown compromise. But not sure by how much.

Therein lies the rub: you index security on knowing you're compromised, whereas most compromise is imperceptible to the user. Rotating credentials reduces risk.

1101010010on Starlink was down because of expired certificate

> I’ve had the same GPG key for 15 years or so and plan on never changing it unless the key is compromised

GPG has no forward secrecy, so 15 years of your "encrypted" communications are at risk. Not a great model for secure messaging.

1101010010on Cash App founder Bob Lee had left San Francisco over crime

Because when you live in Mill Valley, you never leave the perimeter of the city nor be affected by surrounding municipalities, right?

1101010010on Ex-S.F. fire commissioner with fractured skull after metal pipe attack

Both open carry and concealed carry are legal without a permit in Vermont, which is the model for how States should behave in reverence to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

1101010010on Ex-S.F. fire commissioner with fractured skull after metal pipe attack

California also does not honor nor grant concealed carry permits to non-residents, which is one reason I'll never visit again.

1101010010on Ex-S.F. fire commissioner with fractured skull after metal pipe attack

This is the way. Carry concealed, get trained and know your legal rights and responsibilities post-Bruen

1101010010on Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?

Any guides or recommendations on accomplishing this on LG equipment?

1101010010on Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?

> Networks with no password and no captive sign in portal are extremely rare nowadays.

In my suburban-American experience, they are in fact they are more common these days as more consumers purchase and own ISP-provided equipment.

> But also are there any actual confirmed cases of TVs doing this?

Given the nature of proprietary closed source software, I am willing to accept a less than charitable assumption of what they do.

1101010010on Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?

It's only disconnected until your neighbor's AP decides to advertise an open guest network for it to automatically connect to.

1101010010on Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?

My "smart" LG TV takes almost an entire minute from when I turn it on to when I can change the brightness settings (because the auto brightness is entirely inaccurate). The whole menu interface is slow, clunky and the remote (which I'd since replaced with a generic universal one) has idiotic buttons for features I don't want and will never use, plus has a microphone. It's a complete train wreck. I also asked LG if I can turn off Wifi/Bluetooth hardware entirely and they said it's categorically not possible, obviously because the data from spying on you is worth more than they make on hardware.

1101010010on Tesla workers shared ‘intimate’ car camera images, ex-employees allege

Now do the microphones.

1101010010on 60M Americans have taxes so simple the IRS could do them automatically

But then, what would instill the fear of government authority in them?

1101010010on Tell HN: iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t stop from joining

> With this program, the NSA is able to reach directly into the servers of the participating companies and obtain both stored communications as well as perform real-time collection on targeted users.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants...

You're welcome to dispute these facts based on technical merit or other qualifying evidence, keeping in mind the obvious advancements in technology over the past decade, as well as societies' increased reliance on the proliferated devices.

1101010010on Tell HN: iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t stop from joining

Let's see, a literal fourteen year old found a bug in iOS that let him remotely listen to the microphone on any iPhone with only a phone number. Now imagine what a three letter agency is capable of, or is responsible for.

1101010010on Tell HN: iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t stop from joining

They're instruments of social control and behavioral management. People will get upset and this comment will probably even get removed (censored), but this is the truth with closed source software from for-profit corporations.

1101010010on Tell HN: iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t stop from joining

It's amazing how many people already forgot/ignore Snowden revelations. iOS and the rest of the complicit Apple walled garden is literal spyware for the masses. But with enough of a marketing budget, it's easy to convince people of anything, even when it is against their interests.

1101010010on The Mullvad Browser

> Mullvad states what they protect against and what they don't.

Where? Certainly not on https://mullvad.net/en/why-mullvad-vpn/ which is filled with virtue signalling nonsense.

> we encourage anonymous payments with cryptocurrency

Implying crypto (based on a literal public and immutable ledger of transactions) is anonymous.

> we don’t log your activity

No way to validate this claim, but easy to make it.

> The laws relevant to us as a VPN provider based in Sweden

Sweden is part of 14 Eyes and almost all of the privacy legislature (like GDPR) doesn't apply to foreigners.

Plus they use appear to use OpenVPN which is a dumpster fire of vulnerabilities.

Oh, and I love this normalization of ignoring security warnings:

> I get warnings when installing your software!

> That's OK. Allow the software to install.

1101010010on A hacker ripped me off. The scam turned out to be brilliant and terrifying

Use prepaid and don't associate your real name with your cellular account, which has a multitude of privacy benefits as well. Verizon will let you set a six-digit PIN which you can use instead. Also, stop using SMS-based MFA.

1101010010on The Mullvad Browser

Another useless skinjob of Firefox for folks too conditioned and paranoid to use Tor Browser or know how to edit about:config themselves, by a company selling literal snakeoil ("trustworthy VPN").

1101010010on Google to cut down on employee laptops, services and staplers

It's not about cost savings, it's about psychological manipulation of employees as servants to the corporation. Why would they be any exception to its users?

1101010010on The Mullvad Browser

The Tor design spec literally says it is not meant to defeat a global passive surveillance panopticon like a world government. Know its limitations and it's a fine tool. By the way, the entire Internet was built for the government.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpanet

1101010010on Unpacking the Benefits of Zero Trust Architecture as Defined by NIST

I'm thoroughly convinced you don't understand the U2F/WebAuthN standard, which makes intelligent discourse about the topic impossible. Good luck with your studies.

1101010010on Unpacking the Benefits of Zero Trust Architecture as Defined by NIST

Using a password on a WebAuthN protected account is the equivalent of putting a bathroom privacy lock on your steel front door. It's psychological coddling, nothing more.

1101010010on After Alaska Airlines planes bump runway, a scramble to ‘pull the plug’

The ad hominem attack isn't appreciated, you need to do better especially if you're going to sincerely defend the virtues of your economic beliefs.

1101010010on Rejected emoji proposals

Do you think that would be more or less respectful than using your words to communicate in polite discourse?

1101010010on After Alaska Airlines planes bump runway, a scramble to ‘pull the plug’

If efficiency is the goal, packing people into a standing-only flight would also save fuel and reduce wear, I suppose you don't see any problem with that either?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/feb/28/ryanair-sta...

1101010010on After Alaska Airlines planes bump runway, a scramble to ‘pull the plug’

Let's reduce the intervals even further so flights are only $10 then, right?

1101010010on After Alaska Airlines planes bump runway, a scramble to ‘pull the plug’

Lots of blame to pass on the software, but the real culprit is spelled out clearly in the middle of the article:

> the computer then calculates just the right amount of engine thrust so the pilots don’t use more than necessary. “The goal is to lower the power used on takeoff,” he said. “That reduces engine wear and saves money” on fuel and maintenance.

This is not an accident, but rather a feature of capitalism, this time it is human lives that are commodified and have costs externalized unto.

1101010010on Sloth – A Mac app that shows all open files, directories, sockets, etc.

https://github.com/sveinbjornt/Sloth/blob/master/sparkle/upd...

I haven't reviewed obj-c code in over a decade, but I do know anything running with root authorization needs to be scrutinized carefully. And seeing blocks of code copy-pasted from stackoverflow, references to a 10 year old operating system, use of SIGKILL instead of the proper SIGTERM, for example, does not exactly inspire the necessary confidence.